Dennis Hopper: a new doc
Along for the Ride explores his untamed soul
An exciting new documentary by first-time director Nick Ebeling about actor/director Dennis Hopper’s career and mental meltdown following the release of his 1971 film, The Last Movie, arrives in theaters this week.
After winning the prestigious CIDALC Award at the Venice Film Festival 45 years ago, The Last Movie—which was Hopper’s follow up to his huge hit Easy Rider—bombed so badly it gained cult status almost immediately and made Hopper persona non grata in Hollywood for nearly ten years. In fact, it was such a crazy, cocaine-fueled production—they shot 48 hours of film while in Peru—that a documentary was made about the making of The Last Movie called American Dreamer.
Along For the Ride features clips from American Dreamer as well as other TV footage of Hopper from around that time basically being the Bad Boy of Hollywood and the Madman of America. Constantly by his side was best friend and right-hand man, Satya De La Manitou, who is the main source for most of the insane stories told in this film.
We learn about the many sides of the wildly charismatic Hopper, his love of drugs, booze, and women, of course, but also his talent as a photographer, his exquisite taste as an art collector, and his earnest involvement with the Native American communities in New Mexico. And we meet many artists with whom he collaborated over the years, including Wim Wenders, his The American Friend director, David Lynch, who directed him as the sexual deviant, Frank Booth, in Blue Velvet, and his long time friend, singer/actor Dwight Yoakam.
Along for the Ride opens November 3rd.
